Norup Robotics Team Scores Second Place Title in World Championship

Submitted by Doug Rezanka:

The "Mario Bros" beat out teams from Ohio to Korea during the Robofest held at Lawrence Technological University last weekend.

A  Robotics team won second place in the RoboFashion and Dance category at the Robofest World Championship held at Lawrence Technological University on Saturday.

The Mario Bros competed against five other teams from Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Korea. In RoboFashion and Dance, the teams create a two- to four-minute show with multiple robots interacting with each other and the team members.

Team Mario Bros created a Nintendo-theme story based on characters from the Mario video game. The robots perform on two tables that represent the stage. The boys arrange themselves around the stage and act as if they are playing a video game. The robots have sensor which guide them across the table and allow them to interact with the other robots and the human characters.

Their show was divided into three acts. First, Bowser captured Princess Peach and walks her off to a ‘cage’ which closes itself on her. Then Mario and Luigi set out to find Peach. On their way, they encounter Bowser and a battle ensues. Having been defeated, Bowser runs off while being chased by Luigi. In the final act, Mario rescues Peach from her prison and everyone gave a joyous “woo-hoo”.

The RoboFashion and Dance competition category allows the robotics team to demonstrate their STEM skills in a creative style. The Norup boys have done a great job making sure the robots perform flawlessly on a fascinating set.

In preparing for the World Championship, they made improvements on their original program design by adding the whole first act including a Princess Peach robot and an automatically functioning prison. And to make the grand finale more exciting, they added a confetti shower that blasts up from props on the tables.

The Mario Bros are the second Norup International School Robotics team to go to the Robofest World Championship. The Robo Ninjas were World Champions in 2011.

Mario Bros are Brenden Bowers, Kristopher Rezanka, Kevin Upcott, and James Martin. Coaching are Doug Rezanka and Earl Upcott.

To learn more about Robofest visit www.robofest.net.

Congratulations Mario Bros!